It was nice having Michelle Marciniak back in the area today. Me and my media frends caught up to her at Saucon Valley Country Club where she was promoting the Celebration of Women's Sports that will be part of the U.S. Women's Open July 6-12.

I got my first look, too, at Saucon Valley CC and wow, what a place that is! I can't afford to hang out there as a member, but now I see why that's the place all of these big events are held.

Back to the girl we used to call Spinderella and the Divine Miss M.

Let's face it, when it comes to local athletes achieving at the highest level, especially in basketball, few can match her.

3,025 career points at Central Catholic ... a couple of state finals,...national title at Tennessee...six years as a pro player. .. she did it all.

The baby-faced kid is now a grown woman, and ok, let's face it, a very lovely woman, too. I guess the PC police will find fault with that last statement but I don't care.

She is a person who adjusts as she goes on. You'll remember she began her college career at Notre Dame and when things didn't work out there, she went to UT.

She gave the pros a go and coaching, too, always looking ahead to new challenges, new things to conquer. I am surprised she didn't get into broadcasting because but I think she could have had a future there, too, but Michelle's always known her strengths and where she wants to go.

Now she's a business woman and while I don't know much about the bedding business and the need to have athletic materials in my sheets, Michelle could convince me that it's worth my while. When she believes in something, you tend to go with her.

She had a lot of nice things to say about U.S. Open executive director Mimi Griffin on Wednesday and talked eloquently about the people in this area who meant so much to her and sent her on the way. She lives in South Carolina now and will forever have the southern twang in her voice. But I don't think she'll ever forget where she came from.

Here's an audio clip from Wednesday:

Jeff Geisel may not have been the high-profile, big, bold name some expected to take over as AD at Parkland.

But from my experiences dealing with Jeff over the years, I believe he'll make a good choice as a guy who will work effectively behind the scenes. He'll get the job done and will do things without drawing a lot of attention to himself.

Jeff has a lot of ideas that will appeal to a lot of people. He's someone who looks at the big picture, who sees the values and lessons learned from sports while not over-emphasizing them to the point of forgetting about the whole academic and extracurricular component. Geisel appreciates all aspects of the educational experience, and is as fond of the band, the folks who do the plays, etc., etc. as he is of the athletes who perform in front of 5,000 people on a football Friday night.

And, he will make sure all of the athletes at Parkland receive their fair of support, again not dwelling on the sports that attract the biggest crowds. He wants the Parkland kids who go on to college prepared for the challenges that like ahead. He knows it's a great balancing act at the next level and he wants his student-athletes ready for what's ahead.

I got to know Jeff from his work on the Lehigh Valley Coalition on Sports Ethics, an organization dedicated to improve the climate surrounding youth and high school sports, and it was very clear to me that he's aware of all the positives and negatives surrounding the high school sports experience. He will do what he can to address the problems as they arise.

With Rich Sniscak leaving Parkland High School to become assistant superintendent with the school district, there could have been concerns about the level of leadership and vision athletically at the school. Sniscak will not be involved in athletics in his new role and will no longer be involved in running the Lehigh Valley Conference, District 11, Eastern Conference football, etc. etc.

But Geisel, along with some of the other experienced people still involved with the program, will insure that Parkland will remain among the most successful programs in the Lehigh Valley, District 11 and state when it comes to producing successful teams, excellent student-athletes and maintaining a campus full of top-notch facilities.

I was unable to get all of these details in my column this morning talking about the resignation of Patti Heffner, but Rich Fatzinger, still the AD at Parkland for the rest of the school year, said the school wants to act fast, yet effectively, to get a successor in place with the girls basketball program.

Applications need to be submitted by May 6 and should include a cover letter, a resume, three references and a brief commentary explaining the candidate's philosophy on high school basketball.

Jeff Geisel, a 22-year veteran of the Parkland School District, was recently approved as Parkland High School's athletic director.

He'll replace Rich Fatzinger, the former Trojans boys basketball coach who had the position for one year.

Geisel will officially assume Fatzinger's duties in August. Fatzinger is retiring after 35 years of service to the Parkland School District.

The 48-year-old Geisel, a father of two students in the school district, is a Lehighton and Millersville graduate who went back to school to earn a masters degree in sports management at East Stroudsburg University.

The former football and lacrosse player has a vast background in athletics and administration.

He has been the school's assistant director of services for 20 years, specializing in maintenance and environmental issues. In that role he was asked to do everything from "making sure the flags were attached to the top of the goal posts at football games to making sure the swimming pool didn't leak" and was involved in the everyday running of the school district.

He also began the lacrosse program at the school and was the school's first coach in that sport.

He has clearcut goals and ideas for the athletic program, but said he's not going to re-invent the wheel.

"I want to maintain our high level success here and I'm not talking about just wins and losses," he said. "I want to tie in academics more to athletics and make sure that we're developing not just gifted athletes, but well-rounded students and individuals who will use the things they learn in sports to move forward in their chosen careers and lives. And, I also want to make sure that all sports across the board are held to the same standard and our coaches and athletes are given the tools they need to compete. All of the student-athletes are important to us."

Principal Rich Sniscak said: "Jeff has been an excellent employee in the Parkland School District for more than 20 years and his involvement in athletics here goes back to the 1980s. He's the Godfather of lacrosse, and knows what running a program is all about about. He will have a seamless transition into his new role as athletic director."

I am thinking about starting a daily roundup here on Groller's Corner, passing along tidbits of information just off the numerous e-mails I have in my inbox before 11 a.m. every day.

Oh, there are the usual complaint e-mails like the one today from a Northern Lehigh softball parent who complained that I covered Saucon Valley beating both Northern Lehigh and Pen Argyl, but I wasn't there the day that Northern Lehigh beat Pen Argyl.

Sometimes it's hard for people to understand that we don't have a crystal ball in this business. It's not like we can wait to see who wins and then go and cover a game.

I think people would be amused by the complaint e-mails I get, but this daily roundup I'm thinking of would get out some of the vast information I get each day from schools and organizations.

Here's a sampling of information I have received in the past 12-24 hours:

Sophomore outfielder Amanda Paulus (Easton, PA/Easton HS) of the Moravian College softball team has been named the Landmark Conference Softball Player of the Week for her performance last week.

Paulus helped the Greyhounds to a 4-0 mark last week to finish the regular season 31-9 overall and 11-1 in Landmark Conference action. Paulus hit .692 with nine hits in 13 at-bats last week. She added six runs, three RBIs, two doubles, two home runs and two stolen bases. Paulus also had eight putouts and an assist from her right field position where she started all 40 games during the regular season.

Moravian will return to action on Friday, May 1st as the top seed in the 2009 Landmark Conference Tournament in Bethlehem. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at Blue & Grey Field as the Greyhounds take on fourth seeded The Catholic University of America.

For the third consecutive week and fourth time overall this season, Lehigh senior Lisa Sweeney has been named the Patriot League’s Pitcher of the Week, the league announced on Monday. Sweeney continued her strong stretch run for the Mountain Hawks, firing 16 scoreless innings in three games last week, as Lehigh won all six of its contests and clinched its 11th consecutive Patriot League regular season championship.

Sweeney opened the weekend with four hitless innings against Monmouth on Thursday. She struck out six and faced the minimum 12 batters in the four innings. Sweeney left with a 1-0 lead and after Monmouth tied the game, Lehigh eventually rallied to win the game 4-3 in nine innings.

On Saturday, Sweeney enjoyed one of her most dominant performances of the season to date as she struck out a season-high 14 in a complete-game, four-hit shutout of Holy Cross. The shutout was the league-leading seventh of the season for Sweeney, who also picked up her sixth double-digit strikeout game of the year.

The Lumberton, N.J. native closed out the weekend with five scoreless innings in the Mountain Hawks 5-2 win over Holy Cross. Sweeney allowed four hits, struck out six and did not walk a batter en route to winning her 12th straight decision this season.

On the season, Sweeney is now 19-8 with an ERA that has dropped to 2.22. She tops the league with seven shutouts and 209 strikeouts. Since Patriot League play began on March 27, Sweeney is 12-1 with a 1.11 ERA and five shutouts. She also has 104 strikeouts in 88 innings of work.

Sunday’s victory was the 90th of Sweeney’s career, and the right hander enters the Patriot League Tournament four strikeouts short of 900 for her career. Sweeney holds the league’s career record in both categories. She has now won 16 Patriot League Pitcher of the Week awards in her career.

The 2008 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) Champion Pennsylvania Stoners soccer team is recruiting adult and youth (age 13 and older) game day volunteers for all five home matches to fill the following positions:

Ticket Sales/Collections

Program/Giveaway Distribution

Merchandise Sales

Field Set Up

Scoreboard Operator*

Referee/Visitors Liaison*

Statistician*

PA Announcer*

If interested, email the PaSSA at volunteer@pennstoners.org, or call Game Day Coordinator Dave Arner at 610-704-5686.

Because of the IronPigs coverage on Monday on Service Electric, The Morning Call Sports Page TV show was moved to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. RCN4 will have the show, as it always does, at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

This week's topic was the good things still happening in Allentown and special guests were Jeff Wenck, persident of the Oakmont Tennis Club, and Joe Hoffman, president of the Allentown Patriots. Both organizations are celebrating anniversaries this year.

Nazareth softball pitcher Sarah Faust was named the Sports Page Headliner of the Week.

P'burg won the game 27-12, both the winners really, truly were everyone who played in the rematch.

This was a special event never to be duplicated.

P'burg simply had more offensive weapons. The level of play considering the age of the players, the practice time and gameday heat was amazing. We'll have much more in the newspaper on Monday, but this was a terrific event I will long remember. So will the more than 14,000 who were here in 90-degree temperatures no less.

The offensive MVP was P'burg tailback Joe Luke who caught eight passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 28 yards.

The defensive MVP was P'burg tackle Robert Wargo who had seven tackles, including a sack and blocked an extra-point attempt.

The lineman of the game was Easton center Eric Detweiler, who played the game with a broken hand.

Also special mention should go to P'burg quarterback Keith Kullman, who was 14 for 20 for 302 yards and three touchdowns.

The story, though, went well beyond the stat sheet. This was a victory for both schools and communities.

This could only happen in these two communities," Easton coach Steve Shiffert.

Honorary coaches Peyton and Eli Manning were also impressed.

"This is the kind of town you want to play in," Peyton said.

He was right. This could have only happened here.

Some wondered what all of the fuss was about and thought this was going to be an embarrassment. Instead, they are the ones who should feel embarrassed now.

Two voices synonymous with the Easton-Phillipsburg football rivalry, Mike Moore and Dick Hammer, will be handling the live radio broadcast of today's Gatorade Replay. It's good to have them back together on the radio, but don't listen for them on their old spot at WEST. The game can be heard at Sunny 1100 AM, WGPA.

Since there is no live TV coverage of the game, I imagine a lot of folks at the tailgates and block parties outside Fisher Stadium will be tuned in to Mr. Moore and Mr. Hammer.

After seeing both teams practice on Saturday, I really liked the big-play potential I saw from the Stateliners. They have a strong-armed, accurate quarterback in Keith Kullman and a quality wide receiver in Mike Lelko and a good looking back in Joe Luke. I see P'burg putting a lot of points on the board and Easton not being able to keep up.

Plus, it probably didn't help when one of the Easton players was allegedly put in jail on Friday night or early Saturday. Since the arrest wasn't confirmed, I'd prefer not to say the name. But if it's true, it's a distraction these returning Red Rovers didn't need.

I wasn't there all day at Pates Park on Saturday -- some football in Easton and P'burg intervened -- but there were no surprises from what I could tell..

If I was picking each game beforehand, I would have gone 6-for-6 with Nazareth, Northampton, Parkland, Whitehall, Freedom and Bethlehem Catholic the winning teams.

Some games, like Freedom over CCHS, were closer than I thought, but we're at a time of the year where the best pitchers start to shine and all of the LVC's best -- Northampton's Alex MacLean, Freedom's Kirby White, Whitehall's Cat Klobosits, Becahi's Kelly King and Parkland's Deanna Stinner -- were winners.

So was Pates Park which overcame a soggy start with a hose turning the infield into a pond to get five games in that attracted nice crowds on a day and night that felt more like July 25 than April 25.

I've said on this blog as recently as Friday that the four best teams in the league are all in the North Divison. Nothing happened today to change my opinion that Whitehall, Parkland, Northampton and Nazareth are the league's best.

There's likely to be some griping about the fact that Allen or Emmaus will get into the LVC tournament even through the Chicks and Green Hornets are no better than ninth in the league and will have records well under .500..

But Northampton coach Sally Whittaker-Kahan is not going to be one of the complainers.

She pointed out that Allen, Emmaus and Central Catholic have all had good teams in the past and will be good again, Things run in cycles and the current one has four really good teams in the same division, and only two can make the playoffs.

Next year, three of those four North Division powers will lose their starting pitchers and things will even out, she said.

Whittaker-Kahan isn't giving up on catching either Whitehall or Parkland -- or both -- for one of the four LVC playoff spots even though her team has very a very difficult schedule over the final two weeks of the regular season.

However, the two games with Whitehall and one more apiece with Parkland and Nazareth give her team a chance to rise up to the top of the division.

"We've just got to go and play and give it our best shot," she said.

But Whittaker-Kahan is enjoying her first varsity season and loves her Northampton kids.

It's gratifying to see star players like Sally and Nazareth's Michelle Danish -- to name two -- come back to the sport and contribute to its well-being like they have.

I also learned today that veteran Dieruff coach Bob Linn has been hospitalized and been away from his team for a couple of weeks. I give Bob credit for coming back to the sport and giving it all he has with the Huskies in a situation that has always been well, bleak, to say the least. I wish Bob a speedy and full recovery from his health woes.

To get you set for Sunday's big replay and so you can perhaps make a better then-and-now comparison, RCN4 is showing the original 1993 Thanksgiving Day game between Easton and Phillipsburg at these times:

The thing about softball and all spring sports is that not only are you battling opponents, but you battle the elements.

You never know what kind of weather you're going to get. The other day felt like winter and the next four are going to feel like the heart of summer. So teams must be able to adjust and play in all kinds of weather. Nobody likes the frigid temps, but I am not sure the kids like upper 80s either.

Speaking of hot stuff, there's a great danger when you write a column before games are played the same day. When I wrote my softball column on Thursday afternoon, I noted Northwestern as one of the hot teams because they had won five straight. But later in the same day, they lost to Palisades, 10-0. So guess who looks bad? Ah well, I'm used to it.

Anyway, here we go with our weekly league rankings. Can't believe the regular season ends two weeks from today:

LVC

1. Whitehall ... Still not sold on their offense.

2. Parkland ... Trojans are playing like a team mad about losing to Whitehall.

3. Northampton... No one deserves accolades more than Alex MacLean.

4. Nazareth... Can't wait to check out this freshman pitcher named Faust. Notice that my top four are all from the same division.

5. Liberty ... Rich Giering a coach of the year candidate?

6 . Freedom ... Kirby White keeps them in every game.

7. Becahi ... Needed that 16-hit explosion against Emmaus.

8. Easton... Still have a shot at the district playoffs. Notice my next four are all from the same division.

9. Allen ... Where's the offense?

10. Emmaus ... Young players are in the pipeline.

11. CCHS ... What can you say?

12. Dieruff... Ditto.

COLONIAL LEAGUE

1. Pen Argyl ...Loss to Northern Lehigh might have been the best thing that could have happened to Green Knights.

2. Palisades: Looks like Krista Marrone is healthy again.

3. Saucon Valley ... Garrity with three-hit shutout of Bangor.

4. Southern Lehigh ... Weiss has really improved in the circle.

5. Northern Lehigh ... Still not quite sure what to think of the Bulldogs other than they are a lock to win their West Division.

6. Northwestern.... Hvae to shake off the lopsided loss to Palisades.

7. Catasauqua... Another mystery team that shows flashes and then fizzles.

This just was sent to me today by John Eyer, so I couldn't get it into my softball column. Next week, I hope.

But here's the info for getting involved with this year's Lehigh Valley Carpenter Cup team. Remember, our squad finished second in 2007 and won it last year as well as in 2006.

Lehigh

Valley

Softball Carpenter Cup Showcase Press Release

24 April, 2009

From:John Eyer

Emmaus

High School

Softball

331 N. 2nd St., Emmaus.

Pa.

18049

(610) 965-2481 H

(610) 774-5045 W

(610) 390-5463 C

E-mail: jheyer@pplweb.com

Press Release

This years Carpenter Cup is set for Monday June 22nd, Tuesday 23rd, with the Semi-finals on Wednesday the 24th and Finals on Thursday the 25th of June.Rain dates are June 29th and 30th.

Over the four years the Carpenter Cup has been played the Lehigh Valley Team has enjoyed much success.Finishing 1st in 2006 and Second in 2007 and winning it again in 2008.We again look forward to the same success.Tryouts are open to juniors and sophomores/freshman.Please contact your High School Coach for additional information.

Tryouts will be held on Sunday, May 24th at the

Emmaus

High School

field (near the football stadium) in Emmaus for pitchers/catchers and outfielders.For infielders tryouts will be on Sunday, May 31st at

Emmaus

High School

and on Sunday, June 7th for all participants at the

Emmaus

High School

field.All tryouts will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Interested players must be responsible enough to attend tryouts at the correct times on the correct days.

Here in Philly for the Phillies-Brewers game tonight, but I've got the news that Northampton senior softball pitcher Alex MacLean won her 46th game today, a 1-0 victory over Allen. That gives her the school record for wins. Congrats to Alex, who lost her father two years ago right after her sophomore season ended, but she continues to make him proud every day. The Bucknell-bound MacLean is a special young lady. Congrats.

If you read my column about her in January, you know how I feel about Patti Heffner.

To me, she's the "First Lady" of girls basketball in the Lehigh Valley, and may very well be the only person to have won state titles at three different schools -- two as a player at Dieruff and one each as a head coach at Catasauqua and Parkland.

So, it is with sadness that I report that she has resigned from her position as girls basketball coach at Parkland High School.

She turned in her resignation on Wednesday and team members were notified of her decision. Her resignation will be taken to the next school board meeting on Tuesday night where it will be acted on and made official.

Heffner, 50, had to take a leave of absence during the middle of the 2008-09 season when she fell ill and was diagnosed with brain tumors. She has been undergoing treatment ever since.

Her friend and longtime assistant coach Ed Neidermeyer took over the team in her absence.

"It's a very emotional time right now," said Parkland principal Rich Sniscak, who brought Heffner to Parkland when he was the school's athletic director. "It's hard to find the words. It wasn't easy talking to the girls. We'll have more to say after the school board meeting next week. We accept her resignation with regret."

Heffner had earlier tendered her resignation, but was talked out of it by Sniscak.

However, it became clear that Heffner needs all of her energy to continue to fight for a full recovery.

She is not one to do things less than 100 percent and she would have wanted to be involved in the entire offseason program if her health had allowed.

Heffner, who was a Hall of Fame player at Rutgers and an assistant at Lafayette, coached at Parkland for nine seasons. She went 174-75, including this past year's 14-10 season. The highlight was the 2006 4A state championship, which capped a 31-3 season. Heffner's team also won the Lehigh Valley Conference title in 2006, and took district titles in 2005 and '07. Over three seasons from 2004-07 her teams were a combined 87-10.

Prior to her arrival at Parkland, the girls program had gone seven consecutive seasons with a losing record.

Heffner previously coached at Catty for 11 years, going 204-92 and winning the 1988 District 11 and PIAA 2A titles.

I was supposed to cover Northampton at Allen softball on Tuesday, but as so often is the case during the spring, you have to adjust on the fly.

When word came in that the K-Kids and Chicks were postponed by poor field conditions caused by Monday's heavy rain, I made a couple of quick calls and found out Whitehall and Freedom were still playing.

Turns out, I caught a good one. Kirby White and Cat Klobosits hooked up in a classic pitcher's duel and for a 1-0 score this was a game with a fair amount of action. The Zephs tagged out two runners at the plate, got great pitching from Klobosits and a clutch hit by Morgan Kelly and got the win that kept them unbeaten in the league with half of the regular season gone.

I still haven't seen enough games to get a true grasp on everybody, but it's clear to me that Whitehall, Parkland, Northampton are the best three teams in the LVC, but because of White, Freedom's dangerous, too. I feel for Denny Hollinger, who is making his return to the Patriots program after five seasons away. He really likes these kids and they seem to be in every game, but just can't score. Maybe at some point, that'll change and they'll bust loose. If they qualify for districts, and it's an uphill climb at this point, they'll be a team you'd want to avoid.

Eager to see Nazareth, Becahi, Allen and Liberty, which are probabaly the next tier of teams. I guess Emmaus isn't totally out of the picture yet either. Remember, either Allen or Emmaus will win that West Division and qualify for the league playoffs.

The season's going by fast. Only 2.5 weeks are left in the regular season and there's a lot of softball to be played. Whitehall will not go through the LVC schedule unbeaten. It just won't happen. The Zephs must play Parkland again and Northampton twice, on back-to-back days, April 30 and May 1.

But because of Klobosits, catcher Nicole Charles and a grittiness that they didn't possess before, I believe they're as good as any team in the region and have a chance to be the last LVC team standing.

"We can't let anything bother us," Klobosits said, wearing an ice pack on her left shoulder after a 10-strikeout outing. "I have a lot of confidence in my team that we can get the job done no matter what."

Charles, another senior who will continue her career at Kutztown, is the perfect batterymate. She got hit on the head by a bat during the game and barely even flinched.

I'd have to check the records, but I don't know if we've had a player make The Morning Call's All-Area team three consecutive years the way Easton's Zach Hankerson has.

Maybe a Pete Lisicky, maybe a Ray Barbosa; but I'd have to go through the archives to be sure. Certainly, it's a rarity.

Hankerson, at 6-4, had unique skills for a high school player; "a point-forward" coach Jim Hutnik called him. Inside or outside, he posed matchup problems. He also was an excellent passer and was a smart player who picked his spots around the glass.

And yet, somehow, despite his flashes of brilliance over the past three seasons, you always got the feeling that Hankerson's best days were ahead of him.

That promising future will unfold at Kutztown University. Hankerson will make it official today.

It's a good fit because Kutztown loves to push the ball and Hankerson will flourish in an uptempo, free-flowing type of game where he can be more of a creator. Easton's offense could be very structured.

The Golden Bears are a program on the rise after going 28-5 and reaching the PSAC and NCAA regional finals in the 2008-09 season.

Coach Bernie Driscoll has built the program with a distinct Philadelphia flavor, so it's good to see more of a Lehigh Valley influence at the Berks County school. Hankerson will join Allen grad Jordan Wenner in wearing the maroon and gold.

Besides all of his ability, I found Hankerson to be a nice kid. Always enjoyed talking to him after Easton wins. He was not arrogant, not showy. He impressed me as someone who enjoyed his teammates, enjoyed the game.

I wish him well at Kutztown, which happens to be my college alma mater.

During his speech last Tuesday night at DeSales, Packer told a lot of great stories. Some were funny, some drew tears, some had a little of both elements.

As he recapped his college career at Wake Forest, Packer had some funny stories about his coach Bones McKinney. I didn't think he portrayed McKinney in the best light and wrote in my column in Wednesday's paper that Packer basically impiled McKinney was a "bigoted buffoon."

The point of Packer's call was to tell me that he was sorry that was the impression I got from his Wake Forest stories that night, which he admitted he embellished just a bit to describe what a different experience it was for a kid from Bethlehem to play ball in the south in that era.

Packer was very nice, not nasty at all, and didn't necessarily request a correction.

I apologized and said I would attempt to set the record straight, so I want to do that here.

Packer said he greatly admired and respected McKinney and called him one of the most influential people in his life. He said McKinney, who also became a TV guy, was a smart, brilliant guy and an excellent coach.

I appreciated the clarification and hopefully cleared this up for anyone else who might have gotten the same impression from Packer's comments.

Packer, as stated here and in the paper, was very entertaining that night and showed why he was once the voice of college basketball on NBC and CBS. I think a lot of people misunderstand him, too, but he's also a brilliant guy who knows a lot more than just basketball.

I don't know if anyone really knows what to make of Sunday's P'burg-Easton rematch of their 1993 Thanksgiving Day game. 15,000 tickets have been sold, a tribute to the mere mention of this rivalry, the ultimate scholastic series in Lehigh Valley sports

I do know that the videos on the Gatorade site, www.missiong.com are pretty cool. It was great to hear Dick Hammer's voice on one of them. If the game lives up to the drama on these videos, it will be pretty special. It will also be nice to have Peyton and Eli Manning in the Valley. But I have my doubts.

The RCN4 "Sports Talk" panel will talk about the game on their next show, Thursday night at 6. It will be interesting to hear what they have to say.

RCN4 will also replay a famous Easton football game from the past on Thursday, showing the 1991 Eastern final between the Red Rovers and CB West at Goodman Stadium.

Larry O'Rourke, our Eagles beat writer, is the only guest on this week's Morning Call Sports Page TV show, which is seen at 8 Monday nights on Service Electric TV2 and 6 p.m. Tuesday on RCN-4.

O'Rourke talks about the Eagles draft plans, the schedule, Donovan McNabb and more. He also chats about Tom McCarthy, a close friend, who will likely take on a more prominent role with the Phillies broadcasts now with the passing of Harry Kalas.

In addition, Andrew Schwepfinger, a senior Parkland tennis player, is acknowledged as the Sports Page Headliner of the Week. Schwepfinger won the Lehigh Valley Conference No. 1 singles championship.

In eight seasons of covering Lehigh football, I've come to the conclusion that the fans want entertaining football every bit as much as they want winning football.

Oh, they won't trade a 7-6 win for a 42-38 loss, but Mountain Hawks fans enjoy an offensive showcase with lots of passing.

J.B. Clark brought that big aerial circus back for Lehigh last year. And based on what we saw Saturday during the Brown and White Game, the Mountain Hawks have two guys capable of flinging the ball around the yard and stretching the field. Rising sophomore Chris Lum was very impressive.

And Lehigh showcased an abundance of capable receivers, many with local ties like Whitehall's Travis Artim and Jim Potocnie, Jim Thorpe's Craig Zurn and Pennridge's Jimmy Jefferson.

In all, the offense looked pretty good and that's what had the 1,000 fans who showed up on a gorgeous April day feeling good as they look ahead to seven home games in the 2009 season.

The defense had looked good all spring according to coach Andy Coen and there were showed some quality glimpses of that today. "I really believe we're going to have a good defense," Coen said.

So, all in all, there's a good feeling on South Mountain, one that began with the big win over Lafayette last November and seemed to grow through the winter and spring. If that's followed with a good summer in terms of growing team unity and strength and conditioning, this team should be much better than the 5-6 squads of the past two years.

Two more things to come out of today made me happy because it involved two Lehigh Valley kids.

Matt Cohen, a rising senior linebacker, was named one of the team's two captains. Defensive tackle B.J. Benning was the other selection as captain.

"It's a nice honor and I was very happy to hear it," Cohen said. "It's nice to be looked up to, but we have a lot of leaders on this team. Every senior is a leader."

As for the defense's effort, Cohen said, "The offense kind of hit on some big plays and after that we didn't fly around as much as wanted to. We have a lot of experience back, and we rallied after that. But it was also good to see the offense play well. That had a lot of guys step up."

The other local kid to receive an exceptional honor was Liberty graduate Brien Ruyak who was named the winner of the James Gun Memorial Scholarship winner. Gun was the former Pen Argyl and Lehigh standout who died a few years ago after a courageous battle with ALS. Ruyak won a $2,500 scholarship that saluted him for his play on the field and his community service work off the field.

"This means a lot to me," Ruyak said. "I was shocked by it. We do a lot of stuff for the community and I put a lot of time into my studies. It's nice to be recognized for that."

Ruyak missed a chunk of the spring with a shoulder injury, but is expected to be at full strength in the fall.

Here are the unofficial stats from the Brown and White Game as provided by the Lehigh Sports Information Office:

Didn't get a chance to get out to a softball game on Thursday, the nicest weather I've seen since leaving Florida on April 7.

But I observed all of the scores and was really impressed with Nazareth beating Becahi and Northampton topping Freedom 4-0 in 10 innings thanks to a brilliant 3-hit, 16-strikeout shutout by K-Kids' senior star Alex MacLean.

She has the ability to be the best pitcher in the area and she outlasted Freedon ace Kirby White in what had to be a classic.

Elsewhere, many of the area's elite teams kept rolling along. Parkland, Pen Argyl, Liberty and Northern Lehigh were impressive winners. And Saucon Valley pulled out a thriller over Southern Lehigh with two runs in the seventh.

How does that impact my league rankings?

Well, finally, the warmer weather is bringing clarity to who's for real and who's not.

Here's how I see the leagues with lots of big games on Friday and Saturday set to be played and the regular season nearing the midway point:

Colonial League

1. Pen Argyl ... even Bill Schankel is starting to think he has a good team.

I was happy to hear the news tonight that Bob Mazziotta was hired as girls basketball coach at Salisbury. He's one of the good guys in local sports.

"Mazz" has been around for awhile, but has never lost his enthusiasm for the game and he'll bring a lot of life and positive spirit to the Falcons program.

I know he wanted to get back into coaching almost from the moment he left LCCC as its men's basketball coach several years ago. Most of his experience is with boys teams and I know he wanted a boys job, but it doesn't matter.

Mazz has the temperament and demeanor that will succeed with the girls. He's a very upbeat, fun person. He's a good guy to play for and that's been the case no matter where he's been or what level he's coached at.

I don't know what talent remains in the Salisbury program besides Caitlin Hrebik. No need to rehash here all that went on there last year.

Better to look to the future and that just got a lot brighter for the Falcons with the hire of Mazz. I wish him well.

Our online people have helped me to do something I should have done a long time ago and that's categorize the topics we cover here on Groller's Corner and make things more accessible.

It should be a useful tool for you, the blog reader, to go right to the topics and subjects that matter most to you. This is not The Hog Blog which is almost exclusively about the IronPigs or Nittany Lines which is about Penn State football. We move all over the place here and we know you're not interested in everything we write about. Now you have the ability to pick and choose.

Look for the Category Archives listed on the right side. That's where things are going to labeled. Click on a topic and that will bring up the blog entries pertaining to that subject.

Wish we had done this sooner, but we've just started to label the blog entries. From here on out, if you were interested in just Lehigh Valley Conference sports, for instance, you can go to Lehigh Valley Conference. If you like softball, just click on softball.

Things are broken down by sport, by school. We'll even have separate categories for our TV and radio shows.

Hopefully, this will be a useful tool and save you time to get the things that you want to read about.

Parkland softball coach Glen Ray knows he'd never win a popularity contest among his players. That's never been his objective.

Ray has always been one of local softball's tough guys, a firm believer that there's a certain way of doing things. And if you weren't doing things the way he wanted, he'd let you know about it.

But while never the warm and fuzzy type, Ray has become on of the area's most successful coaches, regardless of sports.

He was my Take 5 subject in Wednesday morning's sports section and really, the space wasn't sufficient to truly recap Ray's life and his impact on the Parkland program.

This is a former football star at ESU and Vietnam vet who has accomplished so much away from coaching.

Many of the same attributes that made him successful as an athlete and military man carried over to coaching . There's no doubt that Ray's discipline and his work-ethic, along with assistant coach Barry Search and an abundance of talented players, have made Parkland softball one of the most consistently successful programs we have in local sports.

Ray had many interesting things to say in his half-hour interview at my desk. He's had plenty of experiences (not all positive) dealing with parents. He sees a decline in the sport in terms of overall quality and wonders if kids really care as much as about high school success as they used to, considering all of the travel and tournament teams that have sprung up that travel all over the place.

He said he remembers the tough losses much more than the wins and listed a 1997 district semifinal loss to Pottsville on a bad-hop hit as the one that still haunts him the most. "We were loaded that year and really felt we were capable of winning a state championship."

He also said that despite his love of Pates Park, he doesn't eat much there at the world-famous refreshment stand because when the game's over, he and the coaches usually head to the Brass Rail, Applebee's or some other eating establishment to rehash the game. If it's a loss, the postgame conversation lasts longer.

Ray is truly proud of the program and the fact that so many young ladies have gone on to successful lives as adults. He's very proud of current Northampton coach Sally Whittaker-Kahan for instance, and what she has been able to accomplish.

Ray made no official announcement, but you get the feeling that he won't be coaching at Parkland too much longer. He'd like to make at least one more run at a state title. It's hard to believe it has been 11 years since Parkland's 1998 3A title and it's even more hard to believe that it hasn't been since 2000 and Emmaus that we've had a Lehigh Valley team go for the gold in Shippensburg.

I am not sure what I expected tonight from former college basketball analyst Billy Packer's speech at DeSales, but I didn't expect to be as entertained as I was.

I guess I expected to hear a guy who was a little grouchy, a little bitter. While there's a little ambiguity on the particulars of his exit from the national stage, I don't think Billy left CBS on his own terms.

So, I expected some grumpiness and a somewhat sour guy.

Packer was anything but.

He really impressed me with his delivery, his tone and the variety of the content.

I was really touched by his heartfelt recollections of his father and of growing up in Bethlehem. I loved the way he told Al Senavitis stories.

It wasn't just a sentimental journey. During the Q-and-A session, Packer knocked Title IX, the law instrumental in the rise of women's sports. He also knocked the salaries of the college coaches -- even guys he likes like John Calipari -- and the individualistic nature of the game. He noted how a team of total strangers from around the world beat a group of Americans in a recent high school all-star game and said that should never happen

But there was plenty of positives and lots of energy in Packer's presentation, too.

I also got to talk with him for about 10 minutes earlier in the night and he also had some interesting things to say, such as:

About all the hoopla surrounding the Magic-Bird meeting in 1979: "People said that game turned college basketball around and that wasn't true at all. Some people I really respect wrote that. But it really wasn't a good game or a pleasing Final Four because Michigan State killed Penn in the semifinals. The only decent game there was Indiana State-DePaul in the other semi. I had covered both Larry and Magic previously, but what really happened was what they did after that game as professional players magnified their meeting in 1979 and made it bigger than it was at the time. It wasn't one game that turned basketball around. It was a gradual momentum built with a loy of different things coming together."

His pick for most influential game: "The NC State-Maryland game in 1974 for the ACC championship because they were two of the best three teams in the country, UCLA was the other. And in those days, only one team from a conference could make the NCAA tournament. Willis Casey, the AD at NC State and Wayne Duke, the commissioner of the Big Ten took that game and changed college basketball because of it. They were powerful, influential members of the NCAA committee and they led the torch to say we need multiple teams from a conference in the NCAA tournament and move them into different geographical territories to balance the field."

How did you handle criticism? "I didn't worry about it. I only paid attention to comments from people who in my estimation either knew me or knew what they were talking about. I enjoyed people critiquing me on what I said. I relished someone having a difference of opinion. But those who tried to get into what I was thinking or who I was rooting for, that I never worried about. That was just nonsense to me. I've never been a sports fan and I've never had a rooting interest in my life except for two games. One, was when I found myself rooting for UCLA and John Wooden in his last game (the 1975 national title game against Kentucky) and another time I rooted for my alma mater Wake Forest against Jim Valvano and NC State in a regular season game. Wake had a lot of injuries, they had a terrible team and it was supposed to be a 40-point blowout. Wake Forest even started a kid from med school at center. IIt turned into a great game. I later apologized to Valvano, but he admitted to me that he was rooting for them. too. He had a connection to their coach, Bob Stack. And he said: 'Bob needed to win that game more than I did.'

On why not working as an analyst on ESPN? "That's just not me. That's just not something I've ever been interested in."

It was interesting conversation with Packer and an even more interesting speech he gave.

I missed this year's Final Four because I was busy doing Disney, but Packer brought me right back into the heart of March Madness and the best part of college basketball.

If you know me, you know I root for the Cardinals, not the Phillies. In fact, there have been times in my life when I'd say my two favorite teams were the Cardinals and anyone playing the Phillies.

But even though I've never considered the Phillies my team, if you grew up around here, you couldn't help but be influenced by the Philly media and broadcasters. If you liked baseball in the days before Satellite radio and TV were invented, and games being available on the Internet, you were stuck listening to the Phillies, Mets and Yankees around here.

I was 10 when the Vet opened and Kalas joined the Phillies broadcast team. And while I loathed Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Pete Rose and the rest of that obnoxious Phillies team from the late 1970s and early 80s, I always liked the broadcast pairing of Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn in the Phillies radio and TV booth.

They loved the game, loved each other and loved what they were doing. And it came through on the air. They were enjoyable to listen to, and the folksy Ashburn was never shy about expressing himself when the Phillies were bad, which was often in the early 70s and late 80s.

So, I was sad when Ashburn died in September of 1997 and very sad again on Monday when I heard the news about Kalas.

I was fortunate enough to meet him a few times.

I even played tennis against him very early in my Morning Call career. It was some kind of celebrity thing in the Philly area and former Morning Call writer Marc Markowitz, knowing I played tennis at Dieruff, took me along as a doubles partner and one of our matches was against Kalas and someone I don't remember.

I don't remember much about the match either. I do remember being nervous as heck because Kalas was on the other side of the net and I don't even think I was 20 and here I was playing against the already legendary Kalas. I do remember him being very nice to me, someone he didn't have to be nice to.

In 2008, many, many years later, I had a few more meetings with Kalas.

I had a one-on-one interview with him for about 10 minutes after he spoke before a big crowd at DeSales. The journalist in me wanted to really ask what he thought about Chris Wheeler because the two were allegedly feuding at the time.

But the truth is, he seemed like such a good man who was having such a good time that I didn't want to douse his good mood with a question that would cause him grief (I did ask Wheeler about the tiff later on and he said it was basically blown out of proportion).

And then one day at Citizens Bank Park when I was down there filling in on the beat for Steve Miller, I was sitting with a couple of guys in the media dining room. Wouldn't you know it, here comes Kalas and he plopped down right across from me with a hearty "Hello gang, how's everybody doing?" for a greeting.

Again, the little kid in me resurfaced in this setting and I couldn''t believe I was sitting across the table from the voice of my youth. But the conversation bounced around for awhile and the subject turned to Whitey Ashburn and a wonderful video that was done on his life.

I asked Kalas some questions about it and forgot for a minute or two that he was the most beloved sports figure in Philadelphia and I was just a schmuck writer trying to make a living in Allentown.

Kalas had a way of doing that, a way of making you feel comfortable.

When I got to cover the World Series in both Tampa and Philly last year, I got caught up in the drama like anyone else and forgot about my past "animosity" toward the Phillies. I was happy to be there the night they won it all, and even happy to be able to write about it.

Now, looking back, the best thing about that world title is that Kalas got to finally make the World Championship call for his beloved Phillies. He couldn't do that in 1980 because of ridiculous MLB blackout rules.

I thought the parade and ceremony the Phillies had a few days later was well-done (except for Chase Utley's comment). But the classiest part of all was Kalas and how he handled his role as MC. He got some fantastic, overwhelming ovations that day. I'm glad he got to hear how much he meant to people and how much he was loved.

In the days ahead, you'll see just how deep that love affair between broadcaster and city went.

I envy guys like Woody Saylor, who I wrote about in a Sunday sports section column. Woody is one of several Lehigh Valley residents I know who have found jobs at MLB spring training sites.

My former Dieruff tennis coach Tommy Young is owner Fred Wilpon's right-hand man over at the Mets camp; Long-time East Sider Don Strohler does security work for the Phillies. There are others I've heard about. They have nothing but good things to say about the experience. It must be great to stay active, do something you love doing, and get paid for it to boot.

Saylor has a blast for two months every year as the clubhouse security guy for the Yankees in Tampa.

He's got some great stories to tell about the south version of The Bronx Zoo, especially the A-Rod mess this spring.

He respects George and the entire Steinbrenner family; he thinks this year's club has a better clubhouse chemistry and will do well and really thinks most of the guys in MLB are good guys.

"People are just jealous of the money they make," Saylor said. "You hear it all of the time from the stands. 'Hey, you bum, I'm paying your salary.' They're just looking for reasons to dislike these guys, but the majority of them are good people. I see how they interact with the college interns every day and they treat them very well. Whenever I have to get something signed for somebody, they have their hands extended right away. They can't wait to help. And that's not just the Yankees, but guys from the other teams, too."

Many in the local community know all about the health struggles of Patti Heffner, the Parkland girls basketball coach. Paul and Patti Heffner are avid golfers members of the Blue Ridge Country Club where Saylor plays and is one of Blue Ridge's officers.

The Heffners are big Red Sox fans, so when the Red Sox were in Tampa this spring, Saylor pulled David Ortiz (Big Papa) aside and told him about Patti Heffner. Ortiz basically said, "Whatever you want me to sign, I will be happy to do it."

And that's the way it should be.

It's just unfortunate that the acts and bad deeds of a few players taint the reputation of all of them.

Saylor sees the other side of these guys on a daily basis in Tampa. It's a shame the regular, good-guy fan doesn't get to experience it more often as well.

And speaking of Saylor, he's a good guy as well. He could strut around and act like a big shot, but is very low-key about his Yankees connections. I sought him out for the column. He didn't come to me. And he's not one whos going to abuse his position and use it to his own benefit. He is closer to the Yankee family than probably anyone in the Lehigh Valley, but don't start hounding him for tickets because Saylor doesn't even ask for special favors for himself or his family.

After missing two weeks, I will be back with Roger Pence on The Morning Call Sports Wave radio show on Easter Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon.

Don't worry, I will still getting up early going to church services and will fit in the Easter bunny gig before coming down to Easton for the show.

Remember ESPN of the Lehigh Valley is the home of IronPigs baseball and all the games can also be heard on the station's Internet site -- www.espnlv.com Also, the nightly Happy Hour talk show and other local programming on 1230 and 1320 AM can be heard on the Internet. I don't know if our Morning Call Sports Wave is yet available on the Internet site, but program director Tom Fallon told me it will be available soon which is a nice addition.

Once that becomes official, we'll be sure to let you know.

And remember, Yankees fans are not left out either since Yankees game broadcasts have shifted over to one of Nassau Broadcasting's FM sister stations, the Bone.

Parkland's girls softball team took advantage of the extra nonleague dates (six) built into the Lehigh Valley Conference schedule this year and went to Disney World at the end of March for five games. I must have passed them in the air on March 29 as they were coming back and I was heading down there for my 10-day vacation.

The Trojans went 4-1 in Florida, beating teams from Wisconsin and California by 7-0 scores to get things started. They also added a 3-2 win over North Allegheny from the Pittsburgh area before losing to North Hills, another District 7 team, 4-3.

"That was a game we never should have lost," coach Glen Ray said.

They proved it by bouncing back with a 12-1 win over the same North Hills team before leaving the Sunshine State and the "Happiest place on earth."

"It was a good trip and we played some real good competition down there," said Ray. "This was our fourth time down there and the Disney people do a great job running everything. The kids went into the parks and had a lot of fun. Many of them had never been there before, so it was a good experience for them"

Ray didn't have a great time in the parks, saying the crowds and long lines were a little too much for him. I can agree with his assessment after 10 days of dodging the strollers myself. Even in the tough economy, Disney is thriving with all of the specials they're running.

Back to the softball. As for getting back into the LVC competition, the Trojans look like the league's best, but it's much too early to tell. A big game with Whitehall looms a week from today -- Saturday at 11 a.m. at Whitehall. That will provide a much better barometer.

"It's hard to get a read on everybody," Ray said. "Some of the pitchers have yet to warm up. Some of these games surprise me. We've got some hitters doing well for us and others who have yet to hit to their capability. And we've got two soild pitchers in Deanna {Stinner] and Kelly [Muth]. When she's on, Deanna is still one of the best around. We like how we're playing."

So, with that in mind, here's my latest LVC league rankings, with hopes of getting a better grasp of where everybody stands in the coming week:

Great to be back at Coca-Cola Park for Opening Night on Thursday night.

I like the view from the pressbox for IronPigs games, but one of my favorite things to do since the park opened is to walk around the concourse level and see how many people I know, including many I haven't seen in years.

In just 10 minutes down there on Thursday, I must have seen about 20 people I knew well enough to chat with, good folks like Herb Hemerly, Chip Walakovits, Mario Donnangelo and many more.

Even people I don't know say hello to me, I guess because they recognize me from the newspaper. Usually, these folks are in a good mood. The place has that kind of effect on people, especially after they first arrive and get swept up in the festive atmosphere.

The ballpark has become the new version of the neighborhood barber shop or taproom where people come together on a regular basis, talk about current events and generally have a good time together.

I know it's still about baseball and there's a core of fans there every night who really want the IronPigs to win, but there's also still a high percentage coming out (may 60-70 percent) who really don't give a damn about who wins and just like the night out.

Anyway, I do a lot of talking on a night like this and both Donnangelo and longtime umpire Marty Ondrovic, who works for the IronPigs down below in the clubhouse, told me they're really looking forward to May 7 when the top PIAA brass -- Brad Cashman, Bob Lombardi and Melissa Mertz -- plan to come to the park, see a game, check out the facility and discuss the possibility of bringing some PIAA baseball games to Allentown later this spring.

Even though I'm the softball beat person, I'd love to see major high school baseball events held at the park and I would love to see the prices for stadium rental made affordable so that the PIAA will be willing to stage district and state playoff games here.

The ballpark has won awards and is considered one of the best minor league stadiums in the nation and we have it right here. Why not show it off? Why not bring people to the Lehigh Valley and give our businesses a boost to boot? It's one of the few places we can show off in this town.

I realize that Allentown's location is more conducive to hosting Eastern playoffs than state finals, but why not discuss it and see what can be worked out?

I was happy to hear earlier this week that the entire LVC will have a weekend date at the park. Last year, just four teams played there. The more the merrier I say. You want to continue to develop new fans? Well, allow the fans of tomorrow the chance to play on the field today, and give their parents a real to come out as well.

Again, we have this jewel of a facility that we're proud of. Why not give it as much exposure as possible?

As for the results on opening night, it was disappointing to be sure. I know this team and its fans want to shake off all comparisons to 2008 as soon as possible and the lopsided nature of the game late had everybody thinking "here we go again."

Lots of things seemed out of sync tonight, including the scoreboard and some of the betwee-inning schtick. Everybody was just a little rusty on their execution.

I'm sure things are going to get better, perhaps as early as Friday night.

As tempted as I was to get off the rides and other attractions at Disney World and lock myself in my hotel room to watch the Final Four games on Saturday and Monday and even check out the Phillies season opener on Sunday night, I didn't do it.

This was a family vacation and I was determined to keep it that way. The scowl on my wife's face every time I even glanced at a USA Today sports section was a big deterrent to stay on the no-sports diet.

But on Sunday night, the sports world came to me.

As the baseball season was opening in Philly on Sunday night, I can tell you exactly where the game's all-time leading home run leader was.

Barry Bonds was sitting in a Disney World/Hollywood Studios Italian restaturant with his family and his table was right next to mine.

No kidding. No lie.

Honest to goodness, I am sitting there after a long, exhausting day bopping around to the Tower of Terror, the Indiana Jones stunt show, The Little Mermaid 3D show and all of the other Disney bank account drainers and enjoying a plate of Chicken Parmagiana at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano when I hear a brief laugh and a voice I've heard a thousand times before.

I turn to the table to my immediate left and there sitting with his children and three other adults is none other than Barry Bonds.

To that point, I had no idea he was sitting there. None. There was a guy who looked like a guard sitting at the table, but he was eating dinner too. I figured he was just a Disney security person sitting down to eat with some friends after his shift had ended.

When I realized who it was, I looked over at him and Bonds stared right back at me with a look that said, "Yeah, man, it's me... but I am not interested in talking about baseball, Balco or anything with you right here and right now. Don't even try."

So, I settled for kicking my wife's shin under the table and cupping my hand around my mouth and whispering, "Do you know who that is? That's Barry Bonds, probably the most controversial figure in all of sports."

She says, "You're kidding! That's great! Why don't you go over and get his picture and an autograph?"

I have to explain and say, "Forget it. He's a surly, nasty SOB with one of the worst reputations in all of sports. Anybody else but him I'd go over there and ask for a picture or at least say something like 'Hope you're back out there soon Barry!' But not him."

My dinner was ruined at this point. Thank goodness, most of the chicken parm was gone before I even realized Bonds was sitting seven or eight feet from me. What should I do?

Lots of guys in my position would have done something. They would have approached Bonds, asked him a question or two, tried to get something out of him. But my sense was that it would have been a negative, ugly experience. He would have only snarled back or worse.

And shoot, I was on vacation. He was on one, too. I was with my family. He was with his.

So, I did nothing.

Within about 10 minutes, Bonds and his party left.

After they were gone, I asked my waiter, who also was Bonds' waiter, what it was like waiting on such a well-known athlete.

The waiter, Youness, said he was from Morocco and he didn't follow Americans sports. Michael Jordan was the US athlete he knew. Barry Bonds meant nothing to him and he meant even less after the treatment he received.

"I asked him how his food was and he didn't even respond," Youness said. "He seemed mad at me for some reason. I didn't do anything."

If there was any doubt that it was Barry, it was now 100 percent removed.

The chef, a tall athletic African-American man, then came out of the kitchen and talked to Youness briefly. Then he came over to my table.

"Do you know who was at the table aside of you?" he asked me.

"Barry Bonds, but nobody will believe me," I said. "He didn't look like he was in the mood for a picture or autograph."

The chef said, "I know what you mean. I came out to ask him if I could do anything special and he just looked the other way. He wasn't very nice."

But the chef was nice to me. He went back and gave me a copy of Bonds' reservation that confirmed his party, their time of arrival and their table number. He also gave me my slip showing that Bonds was at table No. 322 at the same time the Grollers were at table No. 323.

"I'm taking another copy home to my kids because they probably won't believe who was in my restaurant tonight." the chef said. "But I wasn't going to ask him for anything either. He was not in a good mood."

So, the story ends here except for one other sad note.

As I walked out of the restaurant with my wife and daughter, two young Disney workers were doing some cleaning just outside. If you've been to Disney, you know that somebody's always cleaning something. Even the sidewalks shine at Disney.

Unlike Youness, these were two guys who would know Barry Bonds.

"Did you see Barry Bonds come out of the restaurant?" I asked these two would-be fans.

"Yeah, one guy recognized him right away and came up and asked for an autrograph," the worker said. "But Bonds wanted nothing to do with him. He kind of turned away."

In that moment I was glad I didn't ask him for anything. His attitude has done enough damage to baseball; I didn't want to take a chance on him damaging my vacation as well.

But I was also sad, too. This is a great, great athlete and baseball player; one of the best -- if not THE best -- of all time. And here he was on opening night of a new baseball season, banished a long way away from the game he could dominate; scowling at strangers and waiters and chefs and ignoring anyone who shows an interest in him,